Currently viewing the tag: "tofu scramble"
How many times can someone have brunch in a week? With so many delicious brunch options to choose from the great city of Los Angeles, breakfast fare, maximized, made up a good portion of my eats. Today, on my last full day, is no exception. This morning we dined at Real Food Daily, a well-known all-vegan hot spot with three locations in the LA area. We headed to West Hollywood to taste this vegan staple.
Satisfying both of my savory and sweet cravings, I ordered The Weekender: scrambled tofu, onions, tomatoes, cashew jalapeno cheese, tempeh bacon with two slices of french toast and hashbrowns.
While every bite I ate made my taste buds high five each other, it was the French toast that had those buds jumping up and down. Vegan French toast can go wrong in so many ways (too soggy, too thin, too thick that you get plain bread in the center, etc) but this was spot-on. And the eggy-like batter, vanilla soy flaxseed, made the toast’s texture awesome.
For our final dinner in town, we hit up Madeleine Bistro, yet another eatery whose website has sat patiently waiting in my bookmarks for this West coast eating frenzy. The posh, gourmet restaurant was only open on weekends and had limited hours. We made a door-buster reservation and decided quickly on the 4-course sampler.
The first course, a spectacular soup, was a good indication of what was to come. It was a sweet corn bisque, creamy and frothy with seasonal, local corn. Though soup makes for an unexciting picture, believe me that the taste was very unbelievable. My salad course, their beautiful red beet tartare was delectable–a tower of tenderized red beet, a crispy-skinned super-creamy tofu cheese crouton, finely sliced cucumber in a balsamic glace. How gorgeous and delicious.
My beet tartare salad in all its glory. Very large and substancial for a salad course, I might add.
Then came the entree, course 3: Lemon-rosemary seitan, delicate haricot and cream crepes with a side of haricots. The house-made seitan was so tender and flavorful. The crepe was oh-so creamy. I just wished there were a bit more of a variety of veggies inside. It was the perfect portion, helping to leave me enough room for dessert. And dessert, course 4, was the best of all!
This capital-A Amazing ice cream treat gave me everything I needed. It is their Bananas Foster Split, the culmination of housemade components that had me speechless and ready to lap the bananas foster sauce off the plate. The vanilla ice cream was creamy, the hot fudge was the perfect flavor and texture (not simply brown and sweet), and the whipped crème real. No packages. Everything made from scratch. This was an amazing dessert. Thank you, Madeleine, for your high standards. They translate to pure, unadulterated deliciousness.
Goodnight L.A.
Ever since I saw the Philadelphia’s Memphis Taproom on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives and learned it had a couple of vegan options, I’ve been wanting to go. The draw? Their vegan “bacon”. Not a packaged meat analog but coconut. Smoked coconut, smoked in a smoker. This ingenious creation is used in their vegan B.L.T. and graces the plate on their tofu scramble, along with vegan blood sausage. And one gorgeous day, CandyPenny and I were there to give it a try.
The Vegan Rooster. A moist tofu scramble, two chunks of the deceivingly light vegan blood sausage, a pile of smoked coconut bacon, some potato wedges and toast. Spot on! Though it may look like any other scramble, the Memphis Taproom does it much better: with housemade accompaniments and extra points for creativity. I cleaned my plate. After all, we had a bit of a drive and were hungry. I was a bit concerned the portion would not satisfy at first. But it was the perfect amount of food.
With some time to kill before our dinner reservation, the gorgeous unseasonably potent sun out and the guise of coming to Philadelphia with any other reason other than eating stripped, we took a quick detour to Bethlehem, home of the famous Vegan Treats!
There was so much to choose from. A slew of adorable personal cakes, danishes, cannoli, cheesecakes–My goodness! I have never seen a more impressive bakery case. Vegan or not. Hands…down.
I got the gorgeous and nostalgic Funfetti mini-layer cake and had a quick photo shoot with it before my first bite. It was nice to see other patrons snapping pictures of their beautiful selections as well.
More fun on the inside. Vegan Treats sure can whip up decadent delights in many shapes and forms. The delicious treat hit the spot and helped us through the hours until our next meal.
This was it. The reason for our trip: Vedge, Philadelphia new vegan fine dining spot from former Horizons owners (you remember Horizons, don’t you?) The vegetable-based menu looked downright heavenly and, though we were stuffed with sweets and scrambles, we were ready.
Firstly, Vedge sells plates and the house recommends 3-4 to make a full meal. It would save the wait staff a good portion of time if the menu and website indicated this. That being said, the plates are assembled to perfection, shaking your taste buds’ hands at first and then leaving them panting and lusting for more in the end. Vedge knows food. Knows how to combine it to produce pleasure. Wow. Did I mention my first plate? Layers of gold beets, smoked tofu, avocado and capers next to a puddle of cucumber dill sauce and a toasted wedge of pumpernickel. My only critique was that the capers were too many. An easy fix.
My second plate was one off of “The Dirt List”, their farm vegetable sides: Brussels, shaved and grilled with smoked mustard
This was my main plate: a tender and light grilled seitan in black lentils and mushroom topped with a creamy horseradish sauce and garnished with a pickled kohlrabi, a type of turnip. Utterly fantastic. Vedge, I will return. And next time I will be getting dessert.
Vegan Croissant. Yes, a vegan croissant! A greasy, oily croissant. Holy Moly.
Champs in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has transformed into a diner. Vinyl booths and all! And on top of that shimmery vinyl seat I sat, wrapping my greasy fingers around a vegan croissant S.A.G., their Boneshakers signature scramble sandwich. Tofu scramble, Daiya mozzarella (since I was going all out glutton) and sausage.
The vegan croissant (I like saying those words together) was just a s buttery and flakey as the non-vegan kind. This is an outstanding vegan version I know I will come back for. Champs is a good greasy spoon eatery. I want to throw an axe in their microwave, however. My food was cold in a couple of minutes.
For dessert I had their rainbow cookie because, besides my own, I have never seen vegan rainbow cookies. It wasn’t really a cookie though. It wasn’t even a cake even. Though it had an accurate almond-y taste, the texture was not there.
I do love the colors. Champs is a nice addition to the neighborhood and they do a lot well. For their other little snags, I wish to offer them my consulting services. I work for French toast slices.
I can’t stop eating it. Mango and sticky rice. I love it. I think I need to do a search for the best–and really, when I say the best I mean the biggest portion. I really have never had a bad batch. Even after this to-go mango & sticky rice sat in its foil container for quite some time, resulting in gummy sticky rice, it was still delicious! This batch was from Pagoda Thai by my apartment and eaten at the foot of the East River in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
When I read that Bushwick Pita Palace, a neighborhood falafel joint, had burritos and Daiya on their menu, I knew I would soon succumb to delivery. On a sweltering summer day in Brooklyn I gave them a ring, pleased as punch with their friendly disposition. I ordered their super veggie burrito which, thankfully did not have squash or broccoli in it. Just the basics: rice, bean, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, fresh tomato and some shreds of Romaine. I ordered a side of their super-hot green salsa to meet the minimum. Beyond the burrito, Bushwick Pita Palace is great. $3 falafels, fast and friendly. I recommend them highly. Unlike the pretentious, hipster-owned, bad-attituded $7 falafel of Yummus Hummus.
Ah, I miss Boneshakers. Now that they closed their space on Kingsland and combined with their bakery Champs, I miss the full sandwich menu. I miss a fresh-made S.a.g. on-demand. When I stopped by recently they had some wrapped up in the bakery showcase made in the morning. They nuked it for me and I devoured it, but it was not the same. Maybe it’s because I can bake pretty amazing cupcakes and cookies myself that I miss the sandwiches so…
After exhaustive veggie burger reporting, I named Tiny’s Giant Sandwich Shop on the Lower East Side as having one of the best in the city. It’s good! But I’ve had much better in other cities. New York, why can’t you have a fabulous all-around vegan veggie burger that I don’t have to worry about eating? And why can’t your servers know if it is vegan? And that brioche buns have egg and butter in it? Is that too much to ask?
Calexico has a food truck at D.U.M.B.O.’s waterfront. Like most carts, the selection is not as robust. Hitting their restaurant in Greenpoint a few months back (see here), we dined on grilled chile-lime tofu, watercress, jicama, etc. But vegan options are limited to bean tacos here. A nice bite but a little uninspired. Sure, authenticity is key in a meat-heavy cuisine, I understand. But Mexican’s highlight of fresh, flavorful vegetables and sauces is the raw material for a truly spectacular veggie burrito. I will gladly act as vegan consultant to any restaurant wanting to appease this hungry mass of eaters! Seriously!
Deep Thoughts: While I was driving south down the I-35 today, in the “road zone”, I began to think about… [wait for it]…human beings.
I began to think about how it was that a lower order of primates evolved to eventually have me sitting snug in a moving machine, barreling down a leg of this man-made intricate interstate system with a device playing digital musical files, reading and interpreting a multitude of semiotic systems, using tools–technology–to gratify all my whims as they arise: hotel reservations in Oklahoma City, checking in with my boyfriend in New York, conditioning the air around me, locomoting from state to state, city to city, mile to mile. I began to think of how amazed I am about… [wait for it]…life. That I am here and I am free and that I have the capacity to embrace being here and being free. No, it wasn’t the countless pro-life billboards (We are in the Bible Belt.), it wasn’t the delirium of thousands of miles under my own belt, it wasn’t too much coffee or that K2 “incense” I have been reading about in the news. It was a thought born of having thought everything else far more frivolous the past 12 days I have been on the road.
Breakfast: Cafe Seed, an all-vegan cafe in Kansas City that served me a perfect breakfast this morning. I hold that meal partly responsible for my elated state. My breakfast, the bacon-scramble tofu biscuit with potatoes and fruit, as well as the rest of the cafe’s weekend brunch menu, was straight-forward, unadorned, fundamental deliciousness… downright paradisiacal. Fueled by the cafe’s distinct energy of rebellion and activism (complemented by the Afrocentric art and photography about its walls), I was reminded that my veganism is a deliberate act, a conscious decision based on justice, fairness and principle. Eating at a place that makes this connection feels good. …Aaannnd they also had the best coffee I’ve had in all of my trip so far.
Cafe Seed’s biscuit, a real biscuit… not a roll or a dense cake… but that distinguished biscuit texture, was filled with a fabulous tofu scramble. This is the kind of scramble I love. It wasn’t overly crumbly and held together, not too yeasty and hippy-like. Place some salty vegan bacon on top (packaged, not sure which brand) and there it is. Making use of their delicious jam, the sandwich was smeared on all sides. A good serving of potatoes (or “nature’s prozac,” says CP) and some fresh fruit. That’ll hold me for 3 hours or so… until we reach our lunch destination.
Lunch. I don’t know how I found this place but wow. Wichita, Kansas’s all-vegan (my favorite compound word) d’Sozo is only about a month old but Executive Chef Miguel Larcher’s vision is fully developed. The huge space houses a natural foods store, a full-service cafe including a buffet and bakery, a juice and smoothie bar and plenty of room for seating. The extensive menu includes sandwiches, pizza, soups, crepes…. uh, vegan crepes!!! All food is the result of Chef Miguel’s extensive culinary background (read up on it here or take my word that the man has years of prestigious international training in vegan cuisine).
My crepe choice, the Asparagus Petite Crêpe [asparagus, béchamel sauce, pimento and fresh parsley] was a absolutely wonderful taste of savory French cuisine. I have had several vegan crepes in my travels (Atlas Cafe‘s in New York City and River House Creperie in Seattle come to mind) and none of them have been truly crepes. This was a crepe, a scrumptious and flavorful one stuffed with even more scrumptiousness and flavor. On the side, some more natural prozac, enormous wedges of seasoned potato. 
The Chef, who we had the pleasure of talking vegan with, offered us complimentary slices of his cheesecake. Much like the crepe, I have had several slices of vegan cheesecake in my day… nothing quite as delicately decadent and authentic in texture as his. Most vegan cheesecakes are dense bricks of ground nut or cold, gelatinous globs. This cheesecake I’d eat again and again… and again.
Here is Chef Miguel, who graciously allowed us to snap some shots. We had to! d’Sozo was a very special and unique find on our vegan roadtrip and I am happy to sing its high praises. And look, he even reads my blog! (Actually, I forced him to.) 
Wow. I am amazed by the last few days of eating. The last two weeks actually. It makes me so happy that there are vegan eateries popping up coast-to-coast, vegan eateries with a love for fresh and flavorful with innovative and creative menus… it does my heart and belly good.
After a strenuous drive back east on I-70, succumbing to the erratic weather fits of the land’s high elevation, we arrived back in Denver, Colorado, a quick stop-over on our route into the Great Plains. I will happily bid the Rockies a fond farewell and look forward to the flatlands. This trip has brought, thus far, a balance of city and nature, decadence and humility, sweet and savory… After 9 days and adding over 3,000 miles on the Ford Focus, I am officially “in the zone”, a minor detail on our great country’s interstate system. But with only about 4 days left, the itinerary is beginning to wind down. I welcome back real life, static life. I want to peer out my 2nd story window in Brooklyn… and to stop eating so much. But let us return briefly to the food I am eating:
We headed to Denver’s Capitol Hill area for a late dinner after settling in at our swanky Holiday Inn. Resisting the easy convenience of the Panera Bread in the cluster of chains across from the hotel, we decided on City O’ City, Watercourse Foods‘ sister cafe in the bustling hipster area. This place really reels ‘em in and we experienced our first wait to be seated. After exploring the block and peering through the window of Watercourse’s bakery space next door, we were called for our table. I knew what I wanted because I had studied the menu at the hotel room… The Sherman, “Carolina dry rub bbq tofu”, coleslaw and pickles on focaccia. Let me tell you about this tofu as the City O’ City and Watercourse family deserve high praises for their handling of seitan and tofu. It was so scrumptious: texture and flavor spot-on. They know how to work with it and infuse as much flavor as possible. Tofu on this delicious sandwich had enough heat to make my nose run, the texture… pseudostratified.
Let me say a bit more about Watercourse Bakery, which supplies City O’ City and Watercourse with all their vegan baked goods. They are, literally, the icing on the cake. With fun and decadent creations, like the Ho-Ho below, Watercourse’s family of vegan deliciousness ranks Denver’s veg-friendliness sky-high. Their food, both the sweet and the savory, are top-notch in the comfort food category far better than many eateries who attempt this back in New York. Go Watercourse!
Since morning had brought another opportunity to eat and Watercourse has amazing breakfast dishes, why the heck not go one last time? After all, I had a long ways to Kansas City and it looked as if America’s heartland hadn’t much in its center. So Watercourse it was. I ordered the Peasant Sandwich, a yummy tofu scramble with basil pesto on soy-buttered toast, served with homefries and a fruit cup. There, there… all ready to drive into state number 7!
Onward into Kansas. It would be a day of driving, easy driving. It was odd how quickly Denver’s highways slimmed down to 2 lanes and its peaks turned into flatlands. The bright blue sky seemed larger than ever along I-70 east, complementing the green plains nicely. For the first time in several days the horizon was a straight line, the land and sky a striped cross-section of vivid color. There wasn’t much to see as we headed through Kansas hoping to put a big dent in our route to Kansas City… which is in Missouri. We stopped to browse antiques and a depressing “Prairie Dog Town” which lured travelers with promises of 5-legged steer and the largest prairie dog in the country. I took some shots of the grounds, which was more a glorified petting zoo with x-rated gag gifts at the exit. I don’t know why we bothered going. It was thoroughly depressing and disturbing. 
Dinner in central Kansas was going to be a challenge. We knew that. But I am happy to report that we found a fabulous Italian restaurant who was able to accommodate us by happily altering their dishes! Yes, not only did Martinelli’s Little Italy‘s Marissa confirm the Orzo Tuscany, Orzo with artichoke, mushrooms, green onion, carrot, red cabbage and very few capers, free of butter and cheese, but she let me know that the cook was preparing it without the usual chicken stock. I was so thankful both my server and the cook knew their stuff! Go Salina, Kansas.
Tomorrow we are off to Kansas City, home to several vegan options and just a hop/skip/jump from Oklahoma City, which would close our huge road loop and set us back down to Texas to finally light my fireworks. Godspeed!
Setting off bright and early from the very cheapo Lazy Lizard Hostel in Moab, CandyPenny and I skipped breakfast and coffee, making a b-line to Arches National Park and its gorgeous collection of natural sandstone arches. We had planned to enter the park in time to view the hot rocks during sunrise but an alarm clock snafu had us rising with Pacific time and not the Mountain time we were actually in. Oh well. The early hour served us well as the expanse of stone formations was ours alone. It was spectacular. The rock resembled so many things: The cross-section of a thick and cold chunk of dark chocolate chopped slowly with a Chef’s knife, a Martian landscape, a primitive Earth’s floor, phalluses, yoni, profiles of chubby bald men… anything seemed feasible but the acceptance that this beauty was naturally-occurring and here all along.
Most impressive was the world-famous Delicate Arch, as seen on Utah’s license plates. I hiked a moderately strenuous trail up slippery stone in terrible shoes to be able to spend some up-close time with the impressive formation. One of many visitors and amateur photographers meandering about the steeply-descending cliff (think sandpit in Return of the Jedi) to catch its good side, I took a ton of shots of that delicate arch, 3 of which are below. 
Finally, hours after wake-up and a tiring hike in the hot sun, it was time to eat. We hit the only veg-friendly breakfast spot in Moab, Eklectic Cafe, for some brunch and coffee. The cafe was gorgeous and had outdoor seating surrounded by lush plant life and cocky begging birds. I had the tofu, potatoes and toast with soy butter. The scramble was very delicious! I was so thankful Eklectic Cafe was up and running, unlike the other several vegan option spots (Love Muffin, who was closed for July on vacations, and Peace Tree Juice Cafe, who was closed for renovations). We had also eaten at Moab’s only Thai restaurant the evening before, which was good but very overpriced.
My head is all sorts of pounding. With the school year ending Monday afternoon and my flight to Austin, Texas on Wednesday morning, my body crunks and shimmies clumsily towards grasping a new routine. But my next two weeks won’t offer this part of me, the part of me that thrives off order and predictability, much in the way of comfort. I’ll be out and about. I’ll shun standard daily dealings for a brief stint behind the wheel. I’ll be flying by the whim and fancy of my appetite. All my appetites. But first of course, a well needed breakfast. Aching with a real hunger headache upon arrival, we hit the granola-hipster hang-out, Bouldin Creek Cafe. Austin-old timer and new-timer, Ms. CandyPenny, had high praises about their flavorful tofu scramble. So I opted for their Bouldin House Omelet with the tofu substitution, a side of potato hash cake and red and black bean medley. The perfect remedy for my hungry head.
To balance the buds, a visit to Sugar Mama’s Bake Shop, which offers several vegan cupcake options, was next. They had a pineapple upside-down cupcake-a moist, spiced cake topped with Hostess Fruit Pie-esqe fruit compote-and Strawberry Lemonade, a berry-infused cupcake with a high head of sweet lemonade-y icing. Both were vegan. We decided to skip the Mint Chocolate cupcake which was also vegan. Not a fan of minty sweets. 
Later, after lounging a bit in the cool AC of Texas Leslie‘s home and playing with cute dogs (below), CP and I hit Wheatsville Co-op for dunch. I picked up a Tofu Po’boy, deliciously breaded tofu, tahini and fresh veggies on a soft hero. Something about the onion, soft bread and tahini brought a nostalgic White Castle flavor to my head. Weird, I know. Nonetheless, the sandwich was very good… eating it in within the soiled concrete and pigeon-populated outdoor seating area, not so much.
I mentioned the dogs. Peanut, a sweet, rambunctious Chihuahua whose tongue licks as fast as his little heart beats, lives next store to Texas Leslie. Boy, what a hyperactive little guy! He has it bad for Friday, below, but c’mon… wouldn’t you?
Here’s Friday, the dapper dog who is strikingly similar to my ol’ dog Pancake. What a sweetheart!
I pass Fall Cafe in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Monday through Friday when I go to work. And Monday through Friday I look at the chalkboard sign hanging in the window announcing their Saturday-only vegan brunch plate! Thing is, I’m never near my job on Saturday. Usually I am nestled in a quiet dead-end in the suburbs. But with a shuffle of plans, I headed to brunch with my favorite veg power-couple, Foodsparrow and TimX. We caught up over the perfect portion of vegan pancakes, tofu scramble, tempeh bacon and cut fruit. The plate hit the spot! It was nice to learn that the dedicated fellow who mastermined adding this dish to the rotation of this small coffee shop’s offerings is a 20-year vegan (not a 20-year-old vegan!) spreading his love with a small hot plate behind the counter. Stop in and tell him you love that he offers you the whole tub of Earth Balance to take to your table.
I have a real problem with running out for Thai lunch specials during the work week. In hopes to quell the nagging whim, I thought I ought to make something I’d want to eat come 12:10. With a recently expired tub of tofu to utilize, I opted to whip up a traditional tofu scramble, incorporating some lemon-pepper tempeh strips and a hefty handful of cilantro. After all, I am partially obsessed with product turnover. So much that I was a few seconds away from incorporating the remainder of my blueberries into the scramble! Maybe next time…
Check out the spice blend. And the deep orange turmeric, how I love you and your ginger relatives. 
Here’s my scramble. I crumbled up the tofu a bit too much. I can’t help it. When it’s in my hands I just want to squeeze and squash it. A cast-iron skillet would yield a better skin on my scramble. I’ll just have to deal with a bit more mush. Now, to just get it in the container without eating it all… like I almost did with the tempeh while the garlic cooked.
Some kinksters apply whip cream to their lovers, but why the heck not a pile of carmelized onion? Ok, I’ll just incorporate it into a loaf of rosemary and olive oil bread. I experimented with this loaf in the old breadmaker and came out with a magnificent 2lb block sure to satisfy a carb craving.
Bliss‘s Vegan Breakfast Burrito
I don’t know about you but the morning after a night of drinking, I am nutrient-starved. I crave a variety of tastes and textures, and their accompanying nourishment. Hangover remedies are much like old wives tales. But through the years of trial and error after a night of drinking errors, I have learned a thing or two about how to snap back into some semblance of shape. Here, in no particular order, are what help me eat away my hangover.
Everything bagels do wonders. The salt replenishes electrolytes, the garlic helps the liver with cysteine, sesame seeds have sesame oil which has wonder-antioxidant vitamin e, poppy seeds are a “folk” hangover remedy, as are caraway seeds. Plus the 3-5 servings of carbohydrates stabilize the blood and are utilized immediately as energy. I prefer my bagel toasted with Earth Balance and jam alongside a small cup of black coffee.
Fresh-squeezed juice is necessity. Make sure you are chugging water as well because it is a bit of a bummer to down a $6.00 fresh-squeezed juice in 30 seconds. I always spring for a combo packed with ginger to soothe the belly. Ginger root is your gastric juices’ friend. And fructose, the naturally-occurring sugar in fruit, helps the body burn up lingering alcohol poisoning your morning. If fresh juice is not readily accessible, I spring for Mango Tango from Odwalla. There is something so nourishing about this drink.
Brunch. The bagel got you primed and ready for a bit more variety, a more nutrient-dense meal. Brunch always hits the spot. The range of temperature and texture in a brunch menu is broader then lunch and it seems more time-appropriate since your brain is still in sluggish morning mode. A perfect hangover brunch contains a salty starch (potato, any style), a zing (like in above’s pico de gallo), a bit of coldness (like in above’s tofu sour cream) and something hot to sink your teeth into and chew (like above’s breakfast burrito: tofu scramble vegan cheese, assorted veggies). Fresh fruit, like banana and berries, up the nutrient ante.
Sunlight, light strolling and someone to be silly with in your witless state also help the cause followed by more restful sleep. A personal hangover savior, in my case The Electrician, can make transitioning back to normal part of the fun of a drunken night-before. Now… time for a night cap.
Doing a weekender in Providence, Rhode Island, it was time to explore the vegan side of this quaint New England city. For better or for worse, many of the spots we hit had previously been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Suffice to say they were not exclusively vegan. In fact they were downright meaty. But always appreciating the option for vegan grub, here’s what I ate:
Just outside of Providence in Narragansett was a hopping burger joint with some very interesting vegan burger options. Crazy Burger is a great little joint with a loyal following of locals jovially enjoying their meals. Running on caffeine fumes from the drive north and post-parking battle in Narragansett’s tiny streets, the Electrician and I started out with the Mad Mexi-skins, potato skins stuffed with refried beans, avocado, tomato and vegan cheddar, served with salsa and chive-tofu sour cream. They really hit the spot. Delicious!
For my main I had the zany Birdie Mae burger, a tempeh-based patty made of purple sticky rice, sweet potato and roasted sunflower seeds topped with rosemary-pumpkin pesto served on a fresh whole wheat roll. On the side, their tasty slaw. The burger was a bit mushy in texture but made up for this tenfold in taste. Such a unique combination of flavors! The great waitress also gave us a squeeze bottled of homemade ketchup for our discerning palettes. Crazy Burger is a must-hit.
Next was dinner at United BBQ near Brown’s campus. Yes, a real live (or dead?) barbecue dive. Their mostly-meaty menu denotes vegan items and has a small section entitled “Weird Stuff”, under which is listed standard VeganVictuals fare: Tofurkey kielbasa sandwich, barbecue seitan sandwich and a grilled Boca burger. I had the barbecue seitan and a side of corn off the cob, a mexi-corn medley, and a side of vegan slaw. Also accompanying the huge sandwich were some house-made potato chips. It was stuffed to the brim with wheat gluten and a yummy sweet barbecue sauce. What a meal!
Ok, Louie’s Restaurant. Dining hell, quite simply. Besides the place being packed with irritating college kids, the service was horrid and the food was capital B-land. Sure they have some vegan options, like pancakes, but the waitress admitted them to be only semi-vegan as they shared the greasy and dirty eggy grill. Ah, how my hopes of vegan pancakes were crushed after I couldn’t help but notice the wet, glistening omelet filled with ham being flipped next to the pancakes! I opted for the tofu scramble, which was reheated separately, with a side of home fries. The “scramble” was watered down and flavorless and mixed with indiscernible overcooked vegetables. Even the potatoes were bad–something I didn’t know was possible. There is no reason to go here, despite the praises of locals on its Yelp page and the visit from the Food Network guy.
Vegan Reporting By Location
